The California Assembly passed legislation Thursday that will require a new and independent environmental review of the proposed Cadiz project that would pump 50 billion gallons of water out of an aquifer in the Mojave Desert east of Twentynine Palms. The law, SB 307, would require groundwater-pumping projects, such as Cadiz, to first obtain an independent environmental review to verify that the project will not adversely impact desert water supplies, wildlife, or the landscape. The review must be completed within 15 to 24 months from the application of the project. And the environmental review must be done by an independent agency that does not benefit from the project. Governor Gavin Newsom has 12 days to either sign the bill or veto it.
Cadiz statement:
“As our Governor has repeatedly emphasized, California continues to suffer from chronic water supply and affordable housing shortages. These problems are not unrelated. Solutions to these two critical problems depend on infrastructure improvements that are opposed at every turn. Bills like SB 307 will make solutions even tougher to achieve. Should the bill be enacted however, Cadiz will embrace fair, open and transparent review of science. We are abundantly confident the Project is safe and sustainable.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cadiz-inc-statement-passage-senate-201148629.html
National Parks Conservation Association statement:
“By passing SB 307, the California legislature has sent a message to the Trump administration that science matters and will not be ignored when it comes to protecting our national treasures from the reckless Cadiz groundwater mining project,” said David Lamfrom, California Desert and Wildlife Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “For the first time, Cadiz will be subject to independent scientific review, which will no doubt prove that the numbers previously used by the company just don’t add up. Senator Richard Roth is a desert, national park and water defender for authoring this legislation to ensure that desert groundwater pumping can serve long-term needs of our wild lands, local communities and businesses.”
